States Take Steps to Ensure a “Well Rounded Education”
August 12, 2016
Several states including New Hampshire, Michigan, and Florida are “experimenting with new standardized tests in the arts.” ESSA includes arts as part of a “well rounded education.” The Director of Educational Policy for the Educational Theatre Association Jim Palmarini argues that “assessments in art subjects could be advocacy tools for arts educators looking to explain their disciplines to principals or parents.” This development could “reinforce” the inclusion of the arts in school curricula, but it also “comes with some challenges and concerns about whether and how to quantify the quality of kids’ creative work.”